Like I mentioned last week, we’ll be starting a cooking club this year on the blog (if you want more information about the club, click HERE). Don’t worry it’s FREE and EASY! All you need are a couple of friends who would also like to learn how to cook with food storage and to check my blog. For the first month, we’re going to do JAMS-and I’ve enlisted MY FRIEND, Jana Darrington from the Utah State Extension Office, to help! Homemade jams are surprisingly easy and even more surprisingly better tasting than anything you can buy in the store.
Today, we’ll go over what you’ll need to begin (including a FREE downloadable Home Guide for Canning) and go over all those different types of pectin. Over the next few days, I’ll have videos showing how to make cooked jam with no pectin, no sugar, regular sugar and then we’ll have a refresher course on freezer jam-so you’ll have everything you need to get your club going!
COOKBOOKS
This is THE guideline for home canning and it’s FREE to download…thanks to the Utah State Extension Office! It has everything you know to keep you and your family safe with home preserving! So make sure you and your friends all get a copy of this! Click HERE to download your copy today for FREE!
The Ball company is the other trusted source for recipes for all things canning. Remember it’s very important to use recipes that are tested to be SAFE!
CANNING SUPPLIES
If you’re going to do cooked jams, you’ll want to make sure you have CLEAN JARS, NEW LIDS, a waterbath and these other canning tools to make your life easier!
For freezer jam, the beauty is that you can use ANY glass jar or plastic container. This is a great way to re-use any glass jar or plastic container you’ve got with a lid (unlike the cooked jam). I discovered these Ball freezer jars last year and have fallen in love with them! They have marked fill lines and are easily stackable (The lids have a feature where they fit into each other to make finding space in your freezer easier.)
PECTINS
Have you ever wondered which pectin is right for you and your jam or jelly? I know I’ve had fun moments of staring in front of the pectins in the grocery store with little kids trying to figure out which I’d need. That is why I asked Jana to help us! In this video she goes over which pectin is best for your project!
You can find pectin at your local grocery store. It’s usually in the baking aisle (near the gelatins) or if you live in a high canning area, the grocery store may have it’s own canning aisle. You can also find pectins online:
RealFruit Low or No Sugar Needed Pectin, 4.7 oz
Sure Jell Pectin, 3.5-Ounce (Pack of 4)
Ball Fruit Jell Pectin
FRUIT
This is a great time to get some fruits in bulk on sale. Some fruits that are in season right now that you may want to think about turning into jams are plums, nectarines, peaches, concord grapes, apples and apricots. You may also want to ask around and see if anyone has any fruit growing on a tree that they won’t use, the best way to do canning is when you can get the product for FREE. So get creative, I’m sure there is someone out there with too much growing on their tree!
MORE IDEAS FOR A CANNING PARTY!
If you’re looking for more ways to make this a real party or you just want some really cute downloadable labels for your jam, you’ve got to visit www.sweetpreservation.com. They have great information!
SHARE WITH US!
Make sure you come back tomorrow to learn how you can make cooked jam with out any added pectin! (It’s also my new favorite jam, so you won’t want to miss it!) What kind of jam are you planning on doing with your friends? Let us all know over at my facebook page!
Have you heard when Utah County will start a Master Food Preserver’s class? I asked them last fall when I came to Elk Ridge for the second year in a row to teach two dozen ladies how to can vegetable soup, and they thought it was going to be 2011. Once you teach someone, they can teach others!